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The Atlantic World

The Atlantic World

The Atlantic World

Europeans, Africans, Indians and their Shared History, 1400–1900
Thomas Benjamin, Central Michigan University
May 2009
Hardback
9780521850995

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    From 1400 to 1900 the Atlantic Ocean served as a major highway, allowing people and goods to move easily between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. These interactions and exchanges transformed European, African, and American societies and led to the creation of new peoples, cultures, economies, and ideas throughout the Atlantic arena. The Atlantic World provides a comprehensive and lucid history of one of the most important and impactful cross-cultural encounters in human history. Empires, economies, and trade in the Atlantic world thrived due to the European drive to expand as well as the creative ways in which the peoples living along the Atlantic's borders adapted to that drive. This comprehensive, cohesively written textbook offers a balanced view of the activity in the Atlantic world. The 40 maps, 60 illustrations, and multiple excerpts from primary documents bring the history to life. Each chapter offers a reading list for those interested in a more in-depth look at the period.

    • Extensive features including 37 primary documents, 40 maps, a bibliography and a glossary
    • Written by only one author - results in a cohesive text
    • Includes 60 illustrations

    Awards

    Winner of the Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2009

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    Reviews & endorsements

    '… an impressive work because of its scope, the number and quality of the illustrations, the updated references and suggestions for further reading, and the excerpts from primary sources … The book will be of interest not only to undergraduate students, but could also serve as to students taking the MPhil degree in Latin American Studies, Historical Studies, and Early Modern History.' Dr Gabriela Ramos, University of Cambridge

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    Product details

    May 2009
    Hardback
    9780521850995
    752 pages
    261 × 186 × 40 mm
    1.5kg
    60 b/w illus. 40 maps 37 tables
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Part I. The Oceans Shall Unloose the Bonds of Things:
    • 1. Antecedents: the Americas, Africa and Europe in the fifteenth century
    • 2. Commencement: the European opening of the Atlantic ocean
    • 3. Conquests: forging the Iberian empires in Africa and the Americas
    • 4. Realms: the overseas empires of Spain and Portugal
    • Part II. Europe Supported by Africa and America:
    • 5. Incursions: French, English and Dutch invasions of the Iberian Atlantic
    • 6. Engagement: the entangled worlds of Indians and Europeans
    • 7. Uprooted: West Africa, the Americas, and the Atlantic slave trade
    • 8. Bondage: the Atlantic plantation complex and the cultures of slaves
    • 9. Partners: women and men in the making of the Atlantic world
    • Part III. A New Order of the Ages:
    • 10. Rivals: Britain and France in the long eighteenth century
    • 11. Liberty: the Atlantic world in the age of revolution
    • 12. Equality: the Atlantic world in the age of revolution
    • 13. Freedom: the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade and new world slavery.
      Author
    • Thomas Benjamin , Central Michigan University

      Thomas Benjamin is Professor of History and a member of the Center for Transnational and Comparative History at Central Michigan University. He is editor-in-chief of the three-volume Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism Since 1450 and co-editor of The Atlantic World in the Age of Empire.